Poorna is an upcoming Bollywood biopic, starring Aditi Inamdar and Rahul Bose, and the film is directed by Rahul Bose, and produced by the director along with Amit Patni. The film is a biopic on Malavath Poorna, who, at 13 years and 11 months, became the youngest girl to have scaled the highest peak on Mt. Everest on May 25th, 2014. The film is an inspirational one, and I’m sure it will win many hearts once it opens in theatres tomorrow. I mean, the indian cricket team has seen it and loved it, so aren’t we bound to, too? The music of the film has been composed by Salim-Sulaiman. The duo has been absent for quite a long time. There was a time when Salim-Sulaiman composing for a film had to mean it was 90% a rom-com. But their last five Bollywood projects have been ‘Jai Gangaajal’ (2016; an action flick), ‘Wedding Pullav’ (2015; a rom-com), one song from ‘Ungli’ (2014; a political satire), the song from ‘Mardaani’ (2014; an action film), and two songs from ‘Kaanchi’ (a political thriller). Out of five films over three years, they seem to have been consciously trying not to choose rom-coms, as they signed only one! Now they sign this movie which definitely isn’t a rom-com. And they give us three songs, one of which has a second version. Hopefully, like another three-song-wonder, Amit Trivedi’s ‘Kai Po Che’ (which is the epitome of ‘Quality over Quantity’) this one too has an amazing soundtrack. So let’s see how this short album turns out to be! 🙂

The first song comes to us in two versions, so we will focus on each separately. The track is a wonderful motivational song, composed marvellously by Salim-Sulaiman. The tune does tread on familiar territory, and you can easily tell that it is Salim-Sulaiman’s composition. The mukhda is simple and sweet; though it sounds heard before, it doesn’t disappoint in its intention of being a motivational tune. Yes, in some parts the composition sounds a bit dreary, but everything can be excused when that liveliest hookline arrives, and takes away your breath. The first antara follows the same tune as the mukhda, while the second takes on a more pensive form, and aptly, given the motivational theme of the song, just like so many Bollywood motivational songs do. They all go serious for some reason, midway. But no complaints. Salim-Sulaiman have wrapped it up quite nicely by bridging it to the hookline in a grand way, making great use of the percussion. That brings us to the arrangements. The Northeast Indian arrangements are audible for like the first minute or so, and then later on they somehow get dissipated amongst a lively show of drums (Darshan Doshi) and guitars (Nyzel D’Lima). The percussion is amazing though, with Sulaiman’s trademark djembe. The backing vocalists (Raj Pandit, Crystal Sequeira, Gwen Dias) are amazing with their Northeastern inputs, and their little rhyme which they sing at the end is adorable. Arijit’s vocals are good, but I felt he could’ve used his lively voice here, instead of his droning voice. (If you have been following me since the inception of my blog, you will know the difference between the two Arijit voices.) Some places he gets very lively, while others, he falls flat, like that mukhda. On a whole though, it is enjoyable hearing him singing a non-romantic song! The “Intimate” version fares well in its own place, trying to be a mellowed-down version of the original, and succeeding. This time, the composition has been backed by wonderful acoustic guitars and occasional piano — providing the required intimate sound. Salim’s vocals are a good substitute because they are soothing and calm; Arijit’s were more suited to the first one. Again, the backing vocalists, in trademark Salim-Sulaiman style, provide a nice and majestic backing chorus. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are just magically motivational. A good start to this motivational album!

For the next song, Salim-Sulaiman recycle their song “Chheene Re Mora Chain” from Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3, resulting in a makeover of a romantic semiclassical song, to a motivational one, again, so apt for the situation of the film. The composition is an amazing one, especially the hookline, which constitutes about 75% of the song! But since it is a semiclassical song, that is expected, just as phrases are repeated a thousand times in classical songs. The fusion is amazing, and I always like me a little rock with classical (Remember ‘Piya Tu Kaahe Rootha Re’ from ‘Kahaani’ by Vishal-Shekhar?) Here, too, Salim-Sulaiman ace it by interweaving the rock portions nicely in between two chunks of the classical parts. There is one antara, also falling into the classical part of the song, and it makes the ambience of the song a shade darker than the rest; the composition is already quite haunting in the way that classical songs always haunt you, pleasantly. The arrangements are ravishing! The rock guitars (Nyzel D’Lima) and drums (Darshan Doshi) do not leave the song even in classical parts, and that’s what makes it even more appealing to the senses. To bring a classical touch to the song, the duo has incorporated a wonderful sitar(Chirag Katti) loop that just blows your mind. In the interlude, a wonderful strings-tablas combination sounds amazing, and even part of the antara is backed by only wonderful tablas. The arrangements are very upbeat on a whole, and won’t leave you dissatisfied. The vocals are beautiful; Raj Pandit carries out the aalaaps effortlessly, and Vishal Dadlani, with his booming voice, aces the rock portions. The lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya, are motivational yet again, and save for the fact that they repeat many times, I enjoyed them! A scintillating fusion! 🙂

Rating: 5/5

3. Baabul Mora

To call it an end to the album, Salim-Sulaiman present a very sombre, pensive classical song. It is a composition which is quite heavy to the ears, unless you really love classical music, which I do! The song starts with a heart-rending high-pitched part sung by Arijit beautifully. The composition that follows might bore some, but it will be a treat for, as I said before, classical music lovers. It is not a song you would hear on loop, but while it lasts, you would cherish it. The small nuances in the composition have been very well-rendered by Arijit. His voice goes straight out to touch the heart, and leaves an impact on you. The arrangements are minimal, with a constant beat going on in the background, intensifying it manifold. Arijit handles the aalaaps and nuances very carefully, and it results in a cherishable sad song. The lyrics are adapted by Amitabh Bhattacharya from Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s thumri of the same name. The rest of the lyrics are new, and that makes it a non-remake in my eyes. Anyway, the song seems to be in a situation where the girl in the movie misses her home. A beautiful classical melody to end the album, but not something to listen to on loop.

Rating: 4/5

Poorna is a short and sweet album. All three songs and the one version are amazing and contribute something to the movie. They could be played at different situations in the movie, and fit well in with the narration. There are two motivational songs, one sad song, and one happy and pleasant one. Variety shows itself through just four songs. Salim-Sulaiman have done a great job, and though the number of albums they’re doing is diminishing, the quality seems to be increasing and increasing year by year. The duo has long since thrown off their rom-com stereotype, and has started achieving great musical feats, by climbing up the mountain of endless rom-coms, and choosing content-oriented films after reaching the peak! A short but wholesome album: in Hindi, ‘Sarvaguna Sam’POORNA’!!

Total Points Scored by This Album: 4.5 + 5 + 5 + 4 = 18.5

Album Percentage: 92.5% {That makes it the top-scoring album of the year so far! 🙂 }

Raees is an upcoming Bollywood action / crime thriller film starring Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan and Naseeruddin Shah in prominent roles. The film has been directed by Rahul Dholakia, and produced by Gauri Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. The movie sees Shah Rukh Khan playing a gangster, and that’s pretty much all that we all know about it. The album has released one DAY before the movie, and that’s been frowned upon a lot, mostly by me, and I hated this promotion strategy, if you can call it a strategy. The film had three songs running around TV till the album decided to release a day before. Anyway, the music is by Ram Sampath and JAM8, which is Pritam’s Artiste & Repertoire company promoting new talent. One song by JAM8, it hasn’t been specified who has composed, while the two others are by someone named Aheer. So without further ado, (I mean, how can there be any further ado…) let’s see what this latecomer album has to offer, and whether it was worth the suspense.

The first song on the album takes the form of a (yes, again!!) remake of a popular old song. This time, ‘Laila O Laila’ from ‘Qurbani’ gets brought to the slaughtering counter. (Or is it? Let’s see..) Anyway, Ram Sampath takes charge of this ambitious remake. Ram Sampath is somebody I never have seen remaking songs. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only remake I remember him doing before is that remake of a folk song, ‘Ambarsariya’ in ‘Fukrey’). So he gets to do the remake to this hit club song of the Disco era. Kalyanji-Anandji’s tune for both mukhda and antara get retained, and that is always a pleasure to know. Not that I was a huge fan of the old song, but all celebrations in India (and please note that that is just figurative) are incomplete without this song playing at least once. With the original tune retained, remaking a song properly almost always becomes a piece of cake. Or so I thought. The tune has been retained, and the item-ish flavour has been retained, so as to keep as much similarity with the original and not make an out-of-place remake, but something still seems missing in the song. The arrangements are fantastic. What else can we expect when Taufiq Qureshi is in charge of percussions! Nothing but awe overcomes you when you hear the wonderful and grand percussions — they are so earthy! They make the song which was originally a disco song, a rural number. And that “Bubuchikum, boom bubuchikum” with which the song starts is just crazy! Thats probably one of the best parts of the song. The arrangements of course, like any item song, are incomplete without whistles and a backing chorus going “hey hey“. And everything’s been done here. Even the legendary trumpets (Ed Gibson) have been used and that epic trumpet tune to the hookline has been played throughout the song. But still, something seems missing! Pawni Pandey, who shot to fame with ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs’, has clearly left behind her Li’l-champ-ness. She tries very hard to get the nuances and various little bits of an item song right, but to no avail. (Similar to how Chinmayi couldn’t quite sing ‘Mera Naam Mary’ from ‘Brothers’ well). She only sounds very heavenly when she sings the line, “Laila o Laila Laila, aisi tu Laila“, (she sings in her actual voice there) but not in the lines where she actually sings AS Laila. (On retrospection, I think that might be backing vocalist Chaandni RMW.. So she sounds better than Pawni!) However, that backing vocalist who sings the “phabak phabak” part in this version somewhere in the second interlude, really aces his part! 😀 The lyrics to the antaras have been changed though the tune has been retained, and they carry on the spirit of the old song. At least Javed Akhtar has written something sensible and non-vulgar for such a song too, and not something yucky and stupid. Of course, Indeevar’s classic lyrics for the mukhda can’t really be replaced, can they? Ram Sampath tries his best to deliver a smashing remake, and I must admit, this is better than other recent remakes, (first and foremost, it has no rap! Yay!) but something still lacks, and I can’t seem to understand what!

Note: As I’m writing this review, this song seems to have volatilized from my brain! I mean, it released like a month ago!

Pritam Chakraborty’s Artists and Repertoire company, JAM8 get charge of the romantic song of the album. Now isnt it such an honour to compose a romantic song for THE Shah Rukh Khan? And I must say, the team has made a good effort in keeping with the star’s legacy. Before you start hurling curses at me, I will stop judging music by star value and let’s get on with the review! So the composer(s) [I don’t really know who it is exactly for JAM8] composes this song with a very evident feel-good vibe to it, and who doesn’t like such breezy music? The mukhda has a very sunshine-ish tune to it, and the hookline is so nicely inserted into it, just like a jigsaw puzzle piece that fits into another piece perfectly. (Must be some great quality cardboard that that jigsaw puzzle is made of! Sorry.) The mukhda contains some nice couplets followed by the interjection “O zaalima“, and these couplets have been put to such a nice and playful tune, you can’t help but groove to it, though it isn’t the most conventional of tunes. It reminded me of ‘Aaj Dil Shaayraana’ (Holiday)! It also has PRITAM written all over it; the composer(s??) have done a good job of recreating his style. The mukhda also has another line, which has the most brilliant of tunes, in a high scale of notes. (It’s the part that goes “Aankheinmarhaba, baatein marhaba“, in case you’re wondering.) The first antara is yet another playful tune that you just can’t get enough of, especially the seamless way the tune goes from low notes to high, in a very clever bridge note. And then the tune of that “marhaba” part comes back with different words, and so do the goosebumps! After the first antara, you think that the song would end, but JAM8 had more in store. When it continues you wait for another antara or the mukhda repeated (like most songs have nowadays) but what you get is even better. A brilliant conclusion comes in the form of nice Sufi-style lines, put to a heavenly tune and Harshdeep’s awesome vocals. The arrangements are fantastic, what with the trademark Pritam guitars and dholaks on a very breezy melody. Some techno sounds are very impressive, like that nice sound at the beginning of the song, playing all the time before Arijit starts, and after each “Ozaalima” hook, and in the first interlude. A nice rhythm of daflis (Iqbal Azad), quite similar to the one Pritam himself had given in ‘Gerua’ (Dilwale), gives a nice and traditional touch to the composition. The first time the “Ozaalima” hook crops up, there’s a nice hit of drums (Alan Hertz). The acoustic guitars that start the song (Pawan Rasaily & Arijit Singh) are wonderful and lure the listener into the song perfectly. Even the rock guitars actually rock whenever they play. The first antara has this wonderful ‘Tum Jo Aaye’-ish tabla rhythm, taking you back to the ‘Tum Jo Aaye’ days. The second interlude is phenomenal with a nice harmonium-led (Feroz Shaikh) traditional piece. Vocals are topnotch, with both vocalists impressing. Arijit is his usual charming self, and how I love his voice in such cheerful songs. I think even composers do, because I’m hearing less of his bawling and drawling nowadays. Harshdeep is fantastic too, and her husky voice was a perfect choice to get that small amount of rustic-ness required for the song. She also sings that conclusion stanza very convincingly. The lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya are a good, fine example of clever poetry and have a nice ring to them, especially when Arijit sings it. The fact that the lyrics are great has been proved already, when the makers resorted to lyrics for building up pre-release buzz for the song, instead of releasing teasers of the audio or stills from the video! “Jo tere ishq mein behka pehle se hi, kya use behkaana, O zaalima!” or “Jiski har dhadkan, tu ho aise, dil ko kya dhadkaana, O zaalima!” It is just, perfectly exemplary writing. A good attempt by ‘almost’ newbies JAM8, to create a good romantic track for SRK, and what they will get in return for this is exposure i.e, exposure that being in an SRK film gives you. Surely, bigger projects are in store for them now after the middling ‘1920 London’ last year!

Note: I’m not too sure whether it is the same people behind this song for JAM8, who were behind the songs for ‘1920 London’ (Kaushik-Akash).

Ram Sampath re-enters into the album that was rightly his before JAM8 were taken on board. His next song is a garba track, but it has shades of a romantic track. And this blend has been done so well, that at one point you think it’s a dance number you’re listening to, and at another point, you think it is an out-and-out romantic song. The composition, though quite typical to the genre, is very sweet and innocent, especially the wonderfully crafted hookline. Yes, it has a bit of a 90s touch to it, but that makes it sound all the more charming. The mukhda is a direct plunge into the melody of the song, with the hookline ‘hooking’ you from the very start, just like a hookline is supposed to. That one line that Ram has composed so that we can actually say there is some kind of mukhda (The ‘kehne ko toh khel hai…‘ part) is just sooooo sweet, and whenever it repeats in the chorus, you just can’t help but smile. The antaras have been composed in a just as melodious tune, with an even more evident 90s feel to it, and that touch makes it sound as good as it does! (You see, I have no qualms with 90s touches when they’re well done!) In the second interlude, there’s a wonderful very folksy Gujarati part, crooned by Karsan Sagathia, and that is something to look out for in the song. I like the way Ram has composed such a flavourful Gujarati track, though he isn’t Gujarati himself. That just reflects the unity in diversity of India once again, I guess? 😀 The arrangements are wonderful, and make the song sound grand. If you close your eyes and listen to them, you might just feel you are in the middle of a big Navratri function in the heartlands of Gujarat itself. The powerful, booming percussion (Nitish Ranadive) just can’t be ignored, as it provides such a foot-tapping beat throughout the song. The Gujarati folksy string instruments have been put to great use. That mandolin (Tapas Roy) is just too splendid to ignore! Overall, the arrangements by Sampath set up this very happy and grand ambience, and transport you to Gujarat. Vocals are too impressive to be true. Sukhwinder, as always, is great, but his voice sounds exceptionally well here — barring those small autotunes I can hear occasionally! And the “Chaiyya Chaiyya” (Dil Se) magic is recreated! Bhoomi Trivedi gets her next big song right after her debut in ‘Ram-Leela’, and making great use of the space she gets here, she shines. Her husky voice proves just right for the track, and at places, she sounds just like Sunidhi Chauhan. Karsan’s small interlude, is fantastic, and I don’t know whether it’s a new recording, or a recording of one of his old songs. Probably the former. I don’t know. I don’t think it should matter too. 😛 Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are good; a nice romantic touch is added to the Garba setting with his words. Other than that, there wasn’t anything too exceptional about them. 🙂 A song that will go down as one of the best Garba songs of Bollywood, joining the *recent* hits like ‘Nagada Sang Dhol’ (Ram-Leela), ‘Shubhaarambh’ (Kai Po Che).

Rating: 4/5

4. Dhingana

Singer ~ Mika Singh, Additional Vocals by ~ Team Omgrown, Music Composed by ~ Aheer for JAM8, Music Produced by ~ Omgrown Music (Ram Sampath’s company), Lyrics by ~ Mayur Puri

JAM8 comes back with yet another song on the album, this one credited specifically to new composer Aheer composing for JAM8. The song is your everyday gangster song, something full of attitude and loud beats that you might expect to play everywhere around for a while after the film releases. The composition by Aheer is quite good, getting the attitude and spunk quotient right, with the mukhda particularly starting the song off on a note that would get the listener hooked. As it progresses towards the hookline, the composition does get a bit heard-before and tedious, but bearable. It isn’t like the composition would bore you. The hookline itself is full of that gangster attitude. The one antara that follows too, has a nice retro-styled composition, and reminds one of Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry young Man days. One thing is for sure though, that this song will be played numerous times in parties and functions. The arrangements are your normal massy song fare, with loud masala movie styled percussions (that sound a bit too loud, thus reminding me of Sajid-Wajid’s ‘Madamiyan’ from ‘Tevar’), and cool guitars (Shon Pinto). The star of the arrangements, though, has to be the rock guitars tune, the one we heard in the trailer, and what people were calling the “Raees Theme”. They should’ve released an instrumental track based on that trumpet-and-guitars piece! Vocals by Mika are surprisingly not as irritating as they could’ve been, and that’s saying quite something! He adds a bit of a grunge to his voice in places, and it sounnds great! The song’s duration has been kept very short, under three minutes, and rightly so, situational as it is. Mayur Puri, returning in a film album as Lyricist after quite some time, writes functional lyrics, and from what I gather, it is a song where the gangster and his henchmen are celebrating about the success of their business. Enjoyable, but to an extent, that unfortunately gets reached quite soon.

Here comes another theme song revolving around the central character, Raees. This one has been composed by Ram Sampath and I’m guessing, was part of the album before SRK started making amendments in the album. I say that because it is horribly disappointing! The composition is a typpppppical Ram Sampath composition. But that’s not bad, is it? Well, it isn’t but the result isn’t too satisfactory either. Yes, the composition does have certain hooks that make it work, like the “Heilo haalaro hulle hullare ho…” loop, which is family catchy, but as a whole, it just doesn’t work out as a theme song which it is meant to be. The hookline seems like something that has been composed for an advertising campaign, and doesn’t seem like something you would add into a Bollywood album. Okay, even if it were sounding like an advertising campaign and sounded good, it would be fine. However, the result is a mishmash of confused sounds and tunes. Barring the vocal loop I pointed out, everything seems below the standards. I don’t even get how the track, which is heavy on trippy Latino and club beats, has found a place in such a folksy (till now) album. It is a bit too far-fetched, no? Arrangements are just that: A confused mash of techno beats and Taufiq Qureshi-ish percussion by Farai Arendse and Dayo Afolayan. Also, I don’t know where the Salsa-style beats came from in this song! Vocals by Ram Sampath sound good, but again, it really does not go well with the rest of the album. Again, the vocalists who have sung the vocal loop, fascinate. Ram Sampath and Hiral Brahmbhatt’s lyrics are a good description of Raees’s character, but could’ve done with a much better comoosition. Sadly, so underwhelming a theme song, that I don’t know if it even will be remembered as one.

As soon as the next song starts, you wonder whether you accidentally opened the “Raaz 5” album. The piano notes that the song starts with evoke memory of everything pertaining to the Bhatts. JAM8 returns yet again, with Aheer helming it yet again. And what follows is a very mediocre sad song, that would have (okay, might have) sounded better in any Bhatt album! The composition has been delivered strictly according to the Bhatts’ needs and requirements, and that template has been followed perfectly. Melancholia, check. Acoustic guitars and strings, check. K.K., check. However, was there any need of such a song here? A wonderfully earthy sad song a la ‘Naina’ (Dangal) could very well have been made as well. And my frustration about this song is much less about it being a trademark Bhatt-ish melody, than it is about it being such a mediocre composition! I mean, Shah Rukh had called in JAM8 to enhance the album, as he thought it was underwhelming, but in such short notice, all that JAM8 too, could offer, is this underwhelming song too! Everything about the composition sounds too heard-before and gives you the feeling that you could just as well hear all of this song’s elements in some other, better, actual Bhatt movie song! That much about the composition. Arrangements fare much better, what with a haunting chorus joining in to make it sound all the more pensive (and also dated, at times). The guitars (Roland Fernandes) help the song nicely throughout the duration. The strings very majestically grace the hookline. The best part of the arrangements are the clarinets and flutes (both by Shirish Malhotra), which you might need to strain your ears to listen to. K.K. as usual, aces the vocals, but again, I can’t help but thinking how bored he must’ve been singing this — a melody, the type of which he has sung a thousand times before! Manoj Yadav’s lyrics are a pleasure to hear, and provide the respite that the other aspects of the song do not. A misfit.

Rating: 2.5/5

7. Ghammar Ghammar

The last track on the album is a fun Gujarati folk song recreated by Ram Sampath. And I must say, it is quite impressive! The traditional composition has been given a nice techno revamp, and Roshan Rathod has rendered quite zestfully. What’s most impressive is that the techno sounds and the folk instruments blend perfectly and the techno sounds do not tamper the folksy feel of the song whatsoever. I really have nothing much more to say about this! Just enjoy this one! A short track to dance on in Navratri and/or Janmashtami! 😀

Rating: 3/5

Raees turned out to be quite some disappointment. First of all, you would think an album releasing so late (ONE DAY BEFORE THE MOVIE!!) must be so good for it to be delayed so much. After hearing the album, I could gather that the delay must be due to last-minute additions that clearly went wrong. Ram Sampath’s original music for the film getting scrapped, and JAM8’s new songs (out of which one is great, one is above average, and the other is average) being added like one month before the film releases, takes its toll on the album itself. Whatever was the idea behind this last-minute change of music really backfired on the music itself. And all the pre-release hype that could’ve been created by music has just been wasted. I can just say, Much ado about nothing!

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is an upcoming Bollywood romantic comedy / drama, which stars Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor in lead roles, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fawad Khan in cameos, and special appearances by Shahrukh Khan, Lisa Haydon, Alia Bhatt and Imran Abbas. The film has been directed by Karan Johar, and produced by him along with Hiroo Yash Johar, his mom. The film’s storyline has been well debated on throughout the days of its promotions, and that leaves me with nothing to write about it here, and since the album has been released so “early”, I need to get on with the review like right away! So as you all may know, Karan Johar’s movies have always had awesome soundtracks that become the definition of his films. Be it ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ by Jatin-Lalit, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ by Jatin-Lalit, Sandesh Shandilya & Aadesh Shrivastava, ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ & ‘My Name Is Khan’ by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, or ‘Student of The Year’ by Vishal-Shekhar, Karan has struck a great rapport with each music composer he’s worked with and the results have always turned out to be outstanding. This time, he chooses the hit machine Pritam Chakraborty to do the honors, and I think that was a great decision after the music of his production ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ which had music by Pritam, became such a blockbuster. I also suspect that that was when he roped in or started thinking about Pritam scoring for his next film, that turned out to be ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. Well, five of the music videos have already released, and from the last two months, the songs of the movie have been all over, literally! Pritam has scored six songs for the movie. So without further ado, let’s see how mushkil (difficult) it is to like this album! 😀 Or rather, how difficult it is not to like it! 😉

1. Ae Dil Hai MushkilSinger ~ Arijit Singh

The album kicks off with melancholy galore! And I really don’t usually like melancholy with a typical Bhatt wrapping in Bollywood music, but this song, is so different! First of all, forget about that Bhatt wrapping! Because this time, the Bhatt wrapping itself, has been given a very different touch! Pritam uses the same style he would use to compose songs for the Bhatt movies, but in the process, sheds all typicality. The melancholy represents the Bhatt style so much, but the arrangements all scream “Grand!!” The song seems like a put-together of ‘Janam Janam’ (Dilwale), and a very Bhatt-ish sound to it. I’m not complaining! The result is fantabulous! The composition is wonderful. Pritam starts off with an enticing mukhda that just screams at you to jump into the song, just as your grandmother tells you to jump into her house when you visit! 🙂 Everything about it is so alluring and convincing, that nothing could go wrong. A grand opening makes way for the very mellow hookline, which has become the daily food of most of the nation’s population over the two months since it has come out. The high-pitched line “Mujhe aazmaati hai teri kami…” is so fantastic, that it hurts to wonder how Pritam put together such contrasting lines as this and the starting line and the hookline. The first antara follows the high-pitch and angst and takes it to a whole new level, where it seems that Arijit seems uncomfortable touching those notes, but the result still sounds amazing. Pritam’s vision can’t go wrong, can it! 😀 The second antara follows a more sombre approach to being angsty, and the different, low-pitched composition is sooooooo beautiful, that it just immediately grows on you. The low pitch eventually gives way to more high-pitched lines, this time also, very magical. The hookline, which has different lyrics each time, is so wonderful, that you just can’t forget any of its versions. Pritam’s arrangements surpass everything else. The reason the song reminded me of ‘Janam Janam’ (Dilwale) was solely because of the arrangements. The nice little piano loop at the beginning of the song are so, so grand! On top of that, the grandeur is accentuated even more by wonderful, ostentatious, orchestral strings. The string orchestra consists of violins (Rolf Wilson, Morvin Bryce, Natalie Klauda, Ian Humphries, Raja Halder, Jan Regulski, Charles Sewart, Michelle Fleming, Debbie Widdup, Kate Robinson), violas (Meghan Cassidy, Timothy Grant, Eoin Schmidt Martin) and cellos (Ashok Klauda, Will Scholfield, Peter Gregson). The whole orchestral recording has been produced by Nikhil Paul George, and I must say, he has done a brilliant job putting together those wonderful sounds of the orchestra, not to mention the awesome job that Pritam did in composing them! The trumpet (Neil Brough) in the first interlude is so wonderful, and it imparts a kind of jazzy feel to the song. The oboe (Alison Teale) has been done very nicely, and it plays in the second interlude. Throughout the second antara, wonderful digital beats give the beats, and it sounds so otherworldly! Arijit’s vocals are amazing. He might be struggling a bit with the high notes, but manages to pull it off, and leave us spellbound with the magic of his voice. The way he mellifluously goes through the composition, both low and high portions, is commendable. Amitabh’s lyrics are quite ordinary, not bad and not excellent. They are, however, nice on the ears, due to a good use of Urdu. 😀 A grand beginning to the album! Arijit is going to get his second career boost after ‘Tum Hi Ho’ with this one! And Pritam’s melody is just so… PERFECT!! 😀#5StarHotelSong!!

The second song in the album is a more upbeat, fast-paced, rock-Sufi ballad. Pritam starts it off with a wonderful guitar strum, and then that strum breaks into a very impressive riff, which makes you groove to it right away. The dynamic nature of this composition perfectly contrasts the mellow nature of the previous one, and while that one was perfect as a soother, this one works as an energizer, in a very heavenly way. The composition instantly gets stuck in your head, with Pritam very nicely constructing it with traditional Sufi songs in mind. The mukhda is immensely catchy, and the magic of Pritam is infused into it in such a way, that it doesn’t take long for you to get tripping over it. Right from the beginning, Pritam might have been using some kind of telepathic connection, and as the song progresses, you’ll find that it unfolds just as you want it to, and that’s because you really love what’s going on! 😀 The mukhda is quite sober, but it’s not until the hookline when the composition gets really intoxicating. It reaches its peak there, and rises up to the mountain of high notes so easily, that you have no option but to listen with your jaw open in surprise and wonder. The first antara, sees the song get even better, with a very freely flowing tune that is something to fall for. This is definitely my favourite part of the song, and the way Amit Mishra brings a smile into his voice while singing it, is so cool! It gives way to the hookline perfectly. The second antara, is composed on a different set of notes, and is sung by Shilpa Rao very beautifully. The composition of this stanza is so heavenly, and perfectly suited for a female voice, especially that of Shilpa. I just loved the way it makes the energy of the song come to a complete halt for a while and the way it lets us in on a glimpse of heaven. The vocals by both singers are amazing. Amit Mishra is slowly emerging as a very versatile and well-ranged singer, with his voice perfectly acing those high notes in the hookline as well as the more mellow notes in the first antara. The vibe that his voice sends out while singing the words ending with “aaaar” like “yaar“, “pukaar“, “parvardigaar“, is just soooooo applause-worthy!! Shilpa Rao, who Pritam has made to sing after quite some while now (last being ‘Malang’ from ‘Dhoom 3’) sings the second antara angelically. Amit also ends the songs brilliantly with a portion that gives you goosebumps. The backing vocals by Ashwin, Himanshu, Geet and Arjun Chandy are great, and they complement Amit superbly in the main hook of the song – “murshid mera, murshid mera“. Amitabh’s lyrics are wonderful here as well — romantic and a hint of devotion. Pritam’s arrangements though, are the star of the song. That rock guitar (Roland Fernandes) is the biggest attraction of the song, and it plays almost everywhere! It is what makes the arrangements sound so energetic and dynamic. The drums, of course, are there, and can very well be missed due to everything else happening, but make their presence very well felt during the beginning of the hook every time, when they do a kind of rapid beat which is something to die for. The dholaks, on the other hand, sound very calming and soothing — resulting in a very smart fusion of rock and Sufi. Energetic, dynamic and something of an extravagant nature. Amit becomes the new rockstar of bollywood music, as Pritam presents this wonderful rock and Sufi clash!#5StarHotelSong!!

It is the next song, that keeps up the emotional quotient of the album, with which we had started off the album in the title song, but this one takes that emotion to a whole different level. The composition has the capability to touch the strings of your heart and how! ❤ The song has been composed on a very trademark dholak beat, which can be heard in many such songs, and which instantly reminds me of Pritam’s own ‘Kabira (Encore)’ (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani). The composition is very sweet and heart-touching, and though it seems like it has been heard many times before, it still refreshes you quite magically from the inside, along with giving you this weird sense of sadness as it ends. The song starts with the mukhda sung by Arijit in an unplugged style, with nothing but the guitars supporting him, and then it gives way to that very touching dholak backing loop. The mukhda has a very emotional tune, and it just makes you want to sit and listen to it in peace, without any disturbances. Such songs are always masterpieces. Pritam did it last time in ‘Kabira’ and now here he is, at it again. The hookline is sooooo enchanting, that it just doesn’t get out of your head after hearing it for just one time. It is so immensely catchy, that it just sticks in there and all you can do about it, is to pamper it by singing it and humming it all day. You might not even realize when you start singing this song, it just comes so spontaneously to me. Now that’s a sign of a masterpiece. The first antara too, has such a sweet and lovable tune, that it is hard to ignore or forget, on hearing. The second antara actually takes the form of a kind of traditional style of singing folk Punjabi songs, and Arijit kills it! Pritam’s arrangements are masterclass. The dholak rhythm (Played by Iqbal Azad & Sanjiv Sen) keeps you listening, while the acoustic guitars (Roland) support the dholaks very well. Rock guitars (Roland & Amandeep) infuse the pathos into the song, making it sound trademark Pritam. In the first interlude, a very soul-stirring shehnaai (Omkar Dhumal) just connects with your heart, and the tune gets stuck in your head. Pritam employs some very sweet and angelic voices (Keshia Braganza & Gwen Dias) to sing the backing vocals, and you can hear them sing the hookline in a very heavenly tone. In the second interlude, they rule, and while they’re at they’re hookline, working to pave their way into our hearts with their awesome voice, there’s a very short and wonderful sarangi (Ghulam Ali Khan) in the background, which you would miss unless you’re hearing very carefully. It comes back during Arijit’s second antara, and once again, is very soft, so you have to strain your ears to hear it! Arijit’s vocals are fabulous, with each and every note making itself a home in your heart (God, your heart must be full now.. How will the blood enter and exit? 😦 ) With each of his variations, you can’t help but let out a “Waah“, and during that conclusion paragraph of his, well, he just aces it! The lyrics by Amitabh are mostly in Punjabi, but they are veryyyy touching. With lines like “Andhera tera, maine le liya, mera ujla sitaara tere naam kiya” (I took your darkness, and gave you my bright star, in exchange) and “Kitni dafaa, subah ko meri, tere aangan mein baithe, maine shaam kiya” (I turned so many of my days into evenings, waiting in your yard), Amitabh proves his mettle as a songwriter. Each line just makes its way so gracefully into your lungs. (Remember, your heart is full!) Heart-touching, and a masterstroke by Pritam! One of the best songs of the year for me!#5StarHotelSong!!

After those three songs that constitute the heartrending, emotional and cry-worthy songs of the album, things become lighter with a song that is another emotional, sobby song, disguised in a sweet, upbeat, club number. Pritam is an expert at such club numbers, and just two months ago, he gave us ‘Sau Tarah Ke’ (Dishoom) which was more of a sensuous song. This one here, is completely clean and sanskaari so much so, that the girl is actually happy about breaking up with her so-called ‘saiyaan ji‘! Pritam brings together his arrangements for songs like ‘Blame The Night’ (Holiday) and ‘Hey Mr. DJ’ (Phata Poster Nikhla Hero), and adds to it, a very desi melody, reminding one of the Kishore Kumar-Asha Bhosle duets of the 50s and 60s, where all the nok-jhok and cute teasing would please the listener. The song starts off very quirkily, with Nakash Aziz singing an introductory couplet in the voice of a chipmunk. And then the chipmunk, thanks to the clever vocal programming done by Pritam, goes on to sing a very funny and catchy tune, which turns out to be the characteristic tune of the song. (The one that starts at 0:18 and keeps playing occasionally throughout the song) After the froggy/duck-y tune in “Premika” (Dilwale), Pritam makes this chipmunk tune very nicely. 😂 And then we are introduced to the main character, a girl who’s just broken up with her saiyaan that morning, and she recites a quite interesting couplet, about how her boyfriend left her for a foreigner. And then, the tune that follows, is why I love Pritam so much! 😀 It is a very attractive tune that just lures you into the song right away. The mukhda is very catchy, and it plays entirely after every antara, too. The hookline is the best part of the song though. That tune!! The antara is a good continuation of the sweetness of the song, and keeps up the catchiness very well. There is a rap by Badshah in between the two antaras, and that, however, is so mediocre, that you don’t really pay attention to it. It seems like a forced addition into the song. The arrangements by Pritam are signature Pritam club song arrangements, with the EDM working its magic on you very strongly. The techno sounds become quite entrancing at certain points. The folk percussion is what infuses that wonderful desi feel to the arrangements, and Tapas Roy excels with that. The dholaks (Iqbal Azad & Yusuf Sheikh) are wonderful, and at places, wonderful jugalbandis of the dholaks and Techno sounds give birth to very impressive pieces of music. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are funny, and give you a nice entertainment throughout the song. His clever Hinglish gives your brain something cool to chew on, after all those philosophical and emotional lyrics in the previous three songs. I personally loved the part where he writes “Kalti hua jo saiyaan stupid tera, jeevit hua hai phir se cupid tera!” 😀 Unfortunately, Badshah’s rap becomes the only vulgar (or on the border of vulgar and profane) stuff in what would have been a very clean club number! Last but definitely not the least, the vocals. Jonita wonderfully carries herself throughout the song as a girl who’s happy telling the world about how she got over her breakup, while Arijit very cutely essays the role of the boy who was clearly waiting for this breakup to take place! 😀 The way Arijit sings “Humko bin bataye toone yeh kab kar liya“, girls and ladies will die for him all over again! Jonita, once again, shows a different side of her voice, this time, a very sweet voice that we would fall for anytime! A sweet melody carried very impressively by Jonita and Arijit, whose chemistry turns out to be just amazing! And Pritam, please don’t stop experimenting like this!! #5StarHotelSong!!

The next song of the album, at first listen, seems like your everyday, typical KJo, Punjabi wedding song. But it is so much more than just that, which I understood by listening to it again and again. Pritam uses the Punjabi bhangra style to make this the most templatized song of the album, but the way he has played with the notes, is just too entertaining, enjoyable and outright fun! The song starts wonderfully with very typical Punjabi beats, a very fun ukulele loop, couple with the beats of a dhadd-like instrument. The composition is a fun-filled, energetic one, that reminds you of the craziness that Pritam is capable of infusing into his songs and subsequently, into us. This composition too, is a successor to his earlier crazy songs like ‘Saree Ke Fall Sa’ (R… Rajkumar), ‘Dhating Naach’ (Phata Poster Nikhla Hero), ‘Badtameez Dil’ (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani), ‘Tukur Tukur’ (Dilwale), ‘Chor Bazaari’ (Love Aaj Kal) and sooo many others. The mukhda, which, as Pritam has generously written in the song credits, was based on a concept by the lyricist, Amitabh Bhattacharya, is very energetic and spunky, making a very effusive start to the song. The line just before the hookline, which goes “Boyfriend ki tujhe koi fikar nahin…” has been composed in such a fun way, that it will get you up and dancing. The Punjabi ladies sangeet that starts off the song, is so sweet and catchy, and also reminds me of two of Pritam’s earlier hits, ‘Saj Dhaj Ke’ (Mausam) and ‘Nagada’ (Jab We Met). The hookline is also very differently composed, but it doesn’t stand out in the song, rather it blend in with the rest of the song, and that is very good! The antara is a bit weak, but since it is so short, and works as the antara to a dance song, you ignore it, and the awesome cross line comes back to take you to the hookline. The arrangements by Pritam are top class, and the omnipresent Punjabi flavour brings a different kind of sweetness to the song. At the same time, some strong techno sounds help to enhance the quality of the sound, and the keys (Firoz Khan) tune is an awesome tune to catch onto. The guitars & ukulele (Mohit Dogra & Dev Arijit) help to bring the missing tumbi feel to the Punjabi song. The percussion, probably some electronic dholaks and dhadd, is fascinating. Towards the end, a very high-energy dhol rhythm supports the composition. There’s a part in the song when the dholak is played so rapidly, and beautifully (hear it at 1:22 and 2:56 in the song) that it just makes you go “Wow!” The main vocals by Pardeep, former ‘Raw Star’ contestant and singer of ‘Allah Hoo Allah’ (Dharam Sankat Mein) are very extravagant (Loved the way he sings “aaaye haaaye“), while Nakash supports him well (I don’t even know if Nakash has his solo portions or backing vocals, but I don’t think he has sung any solo portions, because it doesn’t sound like him). Pardeep is very vivacious in his treatment of the song, but it is at times like this, when I can’t help but wish that Labh Janjua was still here with us; he would ace the song! The additional backing vocals by Meenal Jain and Antara Mitra are awesome. (that’s the ladies sangeet!) Other backing vocalists Neetu Bhalla, N.K. Deep Kaur, Bhabita, Sunny, Himanshu, Ashwin, Kaushik and Sachin, do a good job with the “haay“s here and there in the song. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are a laugh fest, right from the ladies sangeet, to the actual lyrics of the main body of the song. His quirkiness from ‘The Breakup Song’ just seems to have increased, and the DESI-ness in his lyrics perfectly complements the desi composition by Pritam. A song that will cater to the masses, but won’t be dismissed by the classes, either! Quirky!#5StarHotelSong!!

6. AlizehSingers ~ Arijit Singh, Ash King & Sashwat Singh

The last song of this much-awaited album, is a very sweet and divine-sounding romantic track, sung by three men whose voices sound more or less the same! 😀 The song starts off with a brilliant vintage Pritam electric guitar riff, and then progresses very seamlessly to the melody of the mukhda, which is opened by Ash King, but a wonderful relay is played between Ash and Arijit as Ash hands over the baton to Arijit after one line! Anyway, the composition is heavenly, and the mukhda wonderfully provides a start to the song. The hookline just brings that magic forward, and the way Pritam has broken the word ‘Alizeh’ (Which is Anushka’s character’s name in the movie) is spectacular! The composition instantly grabs you and you start humming it immediately. Pritam brings back his old-world charm, that we heard in so many of his songs (the most prominent coming to my mind right now being ‘Mere Bina’ from ‘Crook’). The antara wonderfully brings the song forward. The antara is very simple and sweet, but appeals to you very pleasantly. At the end of the antara, Sashwat does a wonderful vocal piece, and he can be distinguished from the other two with his bold and clear voice (kinda like Nikhil D’Souza’s voice). Towards the end of the song, he does a very interesting rap portion, which is very attractive, and finally, some rap that makes sense and fits into the song. Pritam’s arrangements are grand and match the grandeur of the rest of the album, this time, bringing a pleasant Western / European touch to the arrangements because of the wonderful sound of a church-flavoured organ instrument. The beats are digital, and very attractive. The drums too, are quite beautifully played, while Pritam uses his typical Western choir to enhance the sound of the hookline, complete with claps and a Western chorus. The guitars of course, play throughout and don’t fail to let you down. The vocals are very intriguing, and I must say, Ash King overshadows Arijit here, and that can be very well heard when they sing the same lines one after the other in the antara. On the other hand, Sashwat seems to say a lot with his two portions, one Hindi, and the other an English rap. The way Ash sings the lines in the hookline that go “Tera hun main, tujhe yaad hai naa” is just mind-blowing. His mellifluous voice really does a different kind of magic in the song. Amitabh writes perfect romantic lyrics, which are sweet and simple to understand. With this, the album ends of the same grand note as it began, with a very opulently arranged, melodious piece! Arijit, Ash and Sashwat complement each other very well, and Pritam makes the track a pleasant listen, full of love.#5StarHotelSong!!

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil turns out to be an album full of variety. The album has Pritam, the hit machine, showing his various sides of composing, and with two very emotional tracks, one high-energy romantic track, one dulcet romantic melody and two upbeat dance tracks, the album ends up being one of the best commercial albums of the year! With Arijit being the voice of Ranbir in the movie, I was expecting myself to get bored with his voice after the album would end, but Pritam’s wonderful melodies and the ways he made him sing differently in each song, didn’t make me do so. Also, the two songs that are sung by other male singers are fantastic respites from Arijit, while the last track where two other singers accompany Arijit, is also mind-blowing. So, all in all, this is an album which makes it difficult for you to choose your favourite song, and also makes it difficult not to love it! Pritam is truly back with a bang now!

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: Channa Mereya > Everything else 😀

Which is your favourite song from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil? Please vote for it below! Thanks! 🙂

Ki & Ka is an upcoming Bollywood rom-com, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor in lead roles. It is written and directed by R. Balki, and produced by Sunil Lulla, Ralesh Jhunjhunwala, R.K. Damani & R. Balki himself. The film revolves around a young married couple whose relationship challenges the gender roles placed upon men and women by the society. R. Balki is back after a whole year, after his middling ‘Shamitabh’. I had reviewed the album to ‘Shamitabh’, and I found myself one of the rare few who liked it, though not loved it. That album had been composed by Balki’s favourite, Ilaiyaraaja. So it was pretty natural for me (and many others… I hope! Come on, who’s ready to own up? :p ) to think that the music for R. Balki’s next, ‘Ki & Ka’ would also be composed by Ilaiyaraaja, as were his previous ventures — ‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Paa’ and ‘Shamitabh’. Until the first poster came out, which I’ve included in my post. It credits Ilaiyaraaja as the “Music Director” and further specifies that the Music is by Ilaiyaraaja, Meet Bros & Mithoon. Weird as it sounds, it is the truth. 😛 Ilaiyaraaja was expected but what wasn’t expected was tat he would get to compose merely one song. Instead Meet Bros (The duo has gotten their first realllllyyy big project after their split with Anjjan) get to compose more than a half of the album, with three songs and four tracks, one of them being a “so-called” remake of Yo Yo Honey Singh’s hit, ‘High Heels’. What is left goes to Mithoon, which is, as guessed, a calm song. 😀 More of this later, i.e, in the review! 😀 So lo and behold! Here is my first review after ‘Bhaag Johnny’ (Ya. Sorry for disappearing.) Read on to find out what I liked and what not about the ‘Ki & Ka’ music album! 🙂

{NOTE: I know you’ve already scrunched up your face because I wrote the title of the song like that, but that’s what they changed it to on iTunes, so I’ve no option 😛 }

Not technically a remake, but being propagated among the audience as one, this song has got an unfortunate fate. Meet Bros have actually worked pretty hard to make this “remake” unconventional. They have gone to such lengths as changing the whole hookline of the song. But Alas! People still think it’s a remake! 😦 Personally, I loved this one. If remakes are to be made, whether of old songs or of new ones, then they should be like this, not just revamping the old song and making it fast and adding club and techno elements here and there, but actually showing some creativity by altering it completely. Really, hats-off to Meet Bros for having the courage to offer this one to the producers, and the producers must be realllllly huge-hearted to have accepted it! This remake has nothing similar to the original, except the hook tune played on some computerized horn, which was in Yo Yo Honey Singh’s original, and of course, the rap in the interlude (If I can call it one??). The addition of Aditi Singh Sharma as a singer was a great move, making the song more acceptable for Bollywood, with voices for both male and female in a dance track. The new hookline has totally infected my mind, and has also totally overridden the original song in my head. Another thing I loved is when Aditi says “Shut up!” after Yo Yo’s rap. 😛 Thank God someone in this world has the guts to tell him that. 😀 The antara is owned by Aditi, who makes every possible effort to keep it to herself, and succeeds eventually. Jaz Dhami actually sounds good, unlike what he sounded in this year’s ‘Humne Pee Rakhi Hai’ (Sanam Re). Must be the impact of a good composition, that made him sound good too. Kumaar’s lyrics are typical Punjabi dance track lyrics, but one can’t ignore funny and punny stuff in the lyrics. All in all, a great and enjoyable start to this album. And again, I think this IS NOT A REMAKE!! But I Know in fact, that it is a#5StarHotelSong!!!!

Next up is the song by Mithoon, again someone not expected to be composing in an R. Balki album! 😀 This year he already gave great soothing songs like ‘Mar Jaayen’ (Loveshhuda), ‘Sanam Re’& ‘Tere Liye’ (Sanam Re). So I expected something great from him in this album too. And it was no surprise when he gave me just that! 😀 The song starts off slowly with Mithoon singing, some introductory lines, which later, become the mukhda of the song. But before that, the hookline by A run Daga plays, which is such an essentially beautiful part of the song, that I wonder why Arun has been credited as the “Backing Vocalist!” Mithoon really knows how to create an attractive composition, and most of the time, he succeeds in creating a song just like a spiderweb that in this case, is trapping listeners. The notes in the antara have been woven together so comfortably, with the oh-so-mesmerising hookline interwoven after each line, sung by Deepali, who definitely has a smaller role than Arun in the song, yet she isn’t accompanying Arun in the backing vocals list! One thing I’d love to mention about Mithoon’s songs recently, are that the backing vocals are one of the main attractions of his songs! In ‘Sanam Re’, Anirudh Bhola had one or the best backing vocals I’ve ever heard, and here Arun Daga has been given the role of the magician, what with his incessant “Mohabbat hai yeh ji huzoori nahi” and “Ji haan” throughout the song. The “Ji haan” parts are just so irresistibly addictive! Mithoon too sounds great as the main singer, giving us a good break from the Arijit fever that has taken over Bollywood. Arrangements are top-notch, and Mithoon has to be commended for putting it all together so seamlessly. The percussion (all seems electronic) tablas and manjeeras make the song sound really Rahman-ish, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone thinks this is a Rahman song. (Which they won’t, because nowadays, in Bollywood, Mithoon is more popular than Rahman in my opinion). The occasional piano pieces are enough to steal your breath. The second interlude has a wonderful shehnaai solo that is worth hearing again and again. Mithoon does his best to create a haunting impact through this song. It kind of reminds you of his early days in the industry (‘Lamhaa’, ‘Anwar’). Like always, saving the best for the last, now’s the time to talk about the lyrics. Smart lyrics by Sayeed Quadri, who usually writes great love songs, but all Bollywood-ish, whereas this one here actually sounds realistic. Even if you just read them without hearing the song, they would appeal to you, I swear! 🙂 A great composition by Mithoon, great singing by him, accompanied by Backing vocalists without which the song would have lost half its magic touch, and outstanding applause-worthy lyrics by the great Quadri saab, make this song a#5StarHotelSong!!!

Meet Bros’ next song comes in two versions. This one is really quirky and groovy, just like their first song. This one starts with catchy synthetic sounds, that grabbed my attention at once. The backing vocals are awesome in this song as well, what with the girls singing “Nobody hega like him” and “Kehti hai har kudi”. Though the composition on its own practically has no power to attract listeners, it is all the other attractive decorations that help it do so. These include vocals, backing vocals, arrangements and the quirky and funny lyrics by Kumaar. Meet Bros have once again chosen themselves over Mika (Thank God!) and they sing the song really energetically as it should be. It reminds me of songs by almost all composers (except Rahman, who was always following his own trends 😛 ) during the 2006-2008 period. The arrangements are cool, as well, mainly digital, but then they’re to catchy to ignore. Especially the cool tune that starts off the song, which repeats many times throughout the song. A very Ilaiyaraaja-ish first interlude comes across as a pleasant surprise, with the typical train rhythm and beautiful strings. Earl’s rap is good and the lyrics are pretty funny too. 😀 The second version starts off with horns and alien-like voices singing “Most wanted mundaaa…” In this version, the lyrics have been reversed as if it is actually the munda singing about himself — “Main hoon most wanted munda” as opposed to the “Yeh hai most wanted munda”. Palak sounds good in the antara, which hasn’t been altered (probably the only part which has been kept as it is in terms of lyrics). I mean, even the backing vocals lyrics have been changed!! 😀 This one is the version I found more trippier, with more dynamic arrangements — the horns, the dhols. Also, Arjun’s really good at rapping. His accent sounds better in this rap. 😀 Once again, Kumaar writes really funny lyrics that instantly caught my attention. They totally go with the theme of the movie. 😛 Though they make no sense if you happen to randomly pick up this song out of the crores of Bollywood songs, its situational nature gives the assurance that it would become crystal clear if seen in the movie. A catchy dance track, highlighting the fact that men can do what women can — cooking, chopping (vegetables that is!), bargaining, shopping, blah, blah… It’s so quirky that it is a#5StarHotelSong!!

So the next song marks the entry of the last composer in the album — Ilaiyaraaja. When a song is by Ilaiyaraaja, it is impossible to describe it without using the word ‘quirky’. Also, it is impossible not to hear synthetic sounds in it. This composition too, shows his quirky side (isn’t that his only side? 😀 ) and the arrangements are really cool too. You can even say they’re youthful. Shreya renders his composition with ease, being pretty used to his style of composing, but I felt Armaan was a bit out-of-place here. Raaja’s composition is not something that would appeal to the audience though, and it is so confusing for me to decide whether I liked it or not! One time I listen to it, I like it, and the next time it sounds annoying. 😥 It has a number of turns, getting out of beat too in some places (deliberately!) On top of that, it sounds pretty irritating when the singers sing “Foooolishq”. 😭 It isn’t a very smart coinage by Amitabh, from whom I was expecting a lot more! However, the arrangements are really good, with the flutes, finger snaps, rock guitars and xylophone-ish sounds, making the song sound pretty oriental Japanese. The antara has a much better tune than the mukhda which falls flat because of the not-so-catchy hookline. It is pretty much only the hookline which is in the mukhda. The other line in the mukhda too isn’t so catchy. Though Shreya and Armaan can’t be criticized for it, they could’ve sung it in a more enticing way. Amitabh’s lyrics, as I said earlier, disappoint, and one wonders where Swanand Kirkire went! (See the irony. This year Amit Trivedi worked in ‘Fitoor’ with Swanand Kirkire, who has worked with Ilaiyaraaja and R. Balki many times previously, whereas Amitabh, who worked with Amit many times, is working with Ilaiyaraaja and R. Balki 😛 ) The lyrics hardly make any sense. 😦 The song which I was really excited about, disappoints in many departments except the music arrangements, which are the saving grace of the song for me! A song which has confused me so much that I don’t know whether I like it or not!

The quintessential barnyard instrument — the banjo — starts off this song, which is the last offering from Meet Bros in the album, and also the finale of the album itself. Debutant Yash Narvekar starts off and you can’t help but think about Benny Dayal — He sounds so similar to Benny. Meet Bros support him in mainly the hookline. The composition is groovy and actually such that it will motivate you to workout. It has been arranged like a club song, with techno beats and all. Some EDM stuff too has been kept in store for us, and especially the tune of the antara sounds suitable for a club song, I don’t know why. :p The hookline is pretty weird, and not as catchy as the rest of the composition. The catchiest part in the song in my opinion was the antara. The song surely does engage you, but it isn’t one that stays with you for a long time afterwards. Kumaar’s lyrics aren’t great, but typical, and work for the song. Though nothing is ‘bad’ as such in the song, it makes for a weaker song than all the others, in the sense that it doesn’t stay with you after it’s over.

Ki & Ka was an album that I wasn’t expecting so much from after I learnt that it is a multicomposer album. I was expecting Ilaiyaraaja to compose all the songs, but what a surprise that the others overshadow him in this album. Mithoon scores an ace with his one and only song, the best in the album for me, and Meet Bros don’t disappoint with any if their songs, though the last falls a bit short of being a great one. Ilaiyaraaja comes up with a confusing song, which, instead of growing on me, went backward and (what should I say??) ‘ungrew’ on me. All in all, the album for ‘Ki & Ka’ is one that is suitable for the rom-com genre, and way better than Balki’s last album ‘Shamitabh’, if I were to compare. R. Balki made a great choice by going the multicomposer way!!! 🙂

Greetings! I just thought that it would be sensible to post this review on Republic Day as the movie is about the achievement of an Indian, after all! So Happy Republic Day and enjoy the music review of Hawaizaada!

Hawaizaada is an upcoming Bollywood film which is the directorial debut of lyricist Vibhu Virender Puri (‘Guzaarish’, ‘Chor Chor Super Chor’), produced by Vishal Gurnani, Rajesh Banga & Reliance Entertainment and starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Pallavi Sharda & Mithun Chakraborty in key roles. The movie is based on the life of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who had allegedly invented a flying machine (the world’s first unmanned plane) here in India six years before the Wright Brothers did so in U.S.A. Since very little information is known about Talpade, Vibhu Puri decided to explore this topic further and make a film about it! The story really seems very interesting, and I just wish the movie also gets all the love and positivity from the audience when it releases on 30th January. Coming to the music, because this is a music review, it has been composed by four composers, thus making it a multi-composer album. The composers are a Marathi composer Mangesh Dhakde, who has composed a Hindi album in 2013 called ‘Chor Chor Super Chor’, Rochak Kohli, Ayushmann Khurrana and a guest composition by the one and only Vishal Bhardwaj! So you can see now why I am so excited about this album. And now, the time has come to review it! Let’s see exactly how high this plane flies! 😉

1. Hawaizaada DilSinger ~ Rochak Kohli, Music by ~ Rochak Kohli

The soundtrack is opened up by Rochak’s light and heartwarming rhythmic vocals (pbrooo-pbroo-pbru-pbru-pbru), after which the actual words start. Rochak sounds a lot like Mohit Chauhan, and sings the song in a very lively way. Western-styled guitar has a prominent role in the track; it makes sure the listeners do not get bored, and also keeps the track lively and also very quirky and different. The antaras have the charm in them which makes us groove to the tune and the guitars which Rochak has equipped in the background, also sound great in this composition. Lyrics by Vibhu Puri are also sweet. I also found ththough the composition does not instantly hook you, it grows with time and then it couldn’t be any better! I found myself humming it all day! 😀 Nice, lively opening to the album by Rochak!#5StarHotelSong!!

So here, along comes the actual Mohit, after the first song sung by Rochak who sounded like Mohit. And as always, Mohit impresses and how! His metallic voice proves to be very effective for the song, and half the battle is won there itself. His voice is supported by Javed’s Sufi-esque vocals, which enhances the already great song even more. Going on to Rochak’s composition, I believe that it is one of the sweetest and most motivational songs of the year so far. A beautiful traditional melody mounted on a catchy tabla rhythm just makes you delighted when you hear it. Arrangements are fabulous and make great use of mostly traditional style of playing instruments like the tablas, daflis and flutes. Occassional trumpets and drumrolls give the British rule feel. Again, Vibhu Puri excels with the lyrics, which are so very motivational and radiate that unmistakable positivity. It’s all about the confidence Shivkar Talpade had in himself that he would surely make history. Full marks to Vibhu for the lyrics! A beautiful song, impossible to hate. Full marks for composition, lyrics, arrangements and vocals!!#5StarHotelSong!!!

The next composer Mangesh steps in with yet another song drenched in brilliance. Mangesh Dhakde had composed a very retro-style tune, one which reminds you instantly of the 50s era of Bollywood music. Mohit and Neeti’s fabulous singing reminds you of the classic Rafi-Asha duets of the time. Right from the beautiful prelude which the song opens up with, wonderfully sung by Mohit Chauhan, you can sense something different and unique about the song. The accordions and Spanish guitars are the main attractions of the song, and they have been equipped mastermindedly by Mangesh. The Latin feel has been brought out awesomely because of the unique composition and music. Neeti sounds a class apart in the song even though she has a comparatively smaller part than Mohit. Her part in the antara is just too lovely. One of the interludes, has a splendid Portuguese chorus which takes your breath away. This song has a very distinct Victorian feel to it. Lyrics are even better in this song, comparing the whole love process to a court case. Unique concept! Words like “my lord”, “vakaalat”, “hukumat”, “kachehri”, “daleel”, “mukaddama”, “binaah” and many more make the song sound more sophisticated. Finally, Neeti’s grand conclusion to the song leaves you wanting more even after 5 and a half minutes! Everything about this song is truly stupendous, and Mangesh very impressively gets his big break in the Bollywood industry!#5StarHotelSong!!

Ayushmann gets his first credit as a music composer in a Bollywood film with this film, and what he has given us, really proves that he deserves this honour! Actually, this should’ve happened ages before, is what we think! Mirza Ghalib’s immortal poetry, which has already been recreated many times before, gets yet another variation to it. Ayushmann has composed a completely different tune to the poem, and it is one which will give you goosebumps, literally! The use of tablas really enhances the composition throughout, and a lot! Santoor notes each time in the hookline, really give a calming effect. Guitars have not been used as prominently as in other Ayushmann songs, but this time the classical instruments have overshadowed it. Violins and a sitar interlude also impress greatly, not to mention waterdrop sounds in the second antara. Ayushmann’s performance is awesome, with his usual sweet sounding variations. The reprise version takes the classical song to rock level, giving it an altogether different feel. Do watch out for the twist in the second antara in this version. Shweta Subram, newcomer, starts off wonderfully with the couplets of Jigar Modarabaadi’s “Aag Ka Dariya Doob Ke Jaana”. She sounds awesome! Though it is rock song, it still sounds very soothing somehow! Hats-off to Ayushmann for giving such a beautiful composition!!!#5StarHotelSong!!

A folksy string instrument welcomes us into the nest song with Sukhwinder’s unique rustic vocals following. The song is another motivational and inspirational one, feeling even more so because of the energetic composition by Mangesh. Actually, the composition reminded me a lot of A.R. Rahman’s songs from ‘Lagaan’. Awesome job by Mangesh to accomplish something like this. His arrangements are also outstanding. The wind instruments and Daflis placed each time the hookline comes, makes you get hooked to the song instantly. The lyrics by Vibhu enhance the inspirational feeling even more. He has compared the plane (which is being designed by the scientist in the film) to a swan or hans. What a great comparison! Of course, we can also take it to mean that the hans is the scientist, who will accomplish his dream of building a flying machine and fly to the heights (as in, get famous). That has been left to us to decode. 😃 The vocals by Sukhwinder, are as always great, and Ranadeep’s short recitation from the Bhagavad Geeta has been wonderfully incorporated into the song. The backing vocalists also do a brief but great job. Catchy arrangements enhance the composition to levels which are unbelievable! Kudos to Mangesh! Yet another#5StarHotelSong!!!

The senior to all the other composers, and a musical genius according to me, Vishal Bhardwaj, finally enters this till-now superb album, to add some magic of his own to it. And what he presents in front of us, is something very amazing and stunning. For a female item or dance number, what better choice has he than to take his own better half, Rekha Bhardwaj? And she renders his awesome, catchy composition with ease and expertise. Here, he has composed a very traditional Maharashtrian folk song, a Lavani, in a very professional way, as if he himself is a Maharashtrian. The introduction to the song itself assures you that the song will definitely have something incredible to offer you. The contrast between the mukhda, which is very raunchy and masaaledaar, and the antaras, which are a bit milder and have a easier-to-the-ears tune, has been balanced expertly. Traditional lavani instruments like lezim and dholkis have been used by Vishal to make the song sound like a genuine lavani. Both the male and female backing vocals appointed by Vishal have done great to take the song to another level. The unusual Spanish guitars in the lavani also work in favourite of the song! That was an interesting fusion! Vibhu’s lyrics also go with the theme of the song. 😃 Vishal gives us one of the most dhamaakedaar item/dance numbers of late! Finally a song for the masses in this classy album! Not that the classes won’t appreciate it, though!#5StarHotelSong!!

Mangesh returns with a shorter and more soothing version of ‘Udd Jayega’, this one sung peacefully by the Sufi queen of today, Harshdeep Kaur. Though she has very little lines to sing, she does present them with extreme serenity and showcases her immense talent even in these one and a half minutes. Mangesh supports her with beautiful backing orchestrations consisting of violins and flutes. Short and sweet, sure to bring a smile on your face! Nevertheless, it is definitely a#5StarHotelSong!!

Rochak returns towards the end of the soundtrack after his two brilliant opening songs, bringing back with him, his quirk and individuality. Ordinary, soft, contemporary guitar riffs kick off the song, composed mostly on the country template. An abrupt and unexpected tempo switch not too far into the song, surprises, but also makes you smile. Lively arrangements made up of impressive banjos and whistles, have been awesomely managed by Rochak. The hookline with the rhythmic “Tu Tu Tu Tu turru Tu..” also sound great. Lyrics by Vibhu Puri give a clear insight as to what situation this song must have been placed in the film, with the scientist’s peers not quite believing in him, and dismissing his dream as nonsense. Of course, since the song is situational, it might not impress all at once, but the vocalists and energetic tune take care of that. Ayushmann and Monali, do not have very big parts as compared to Papon, who does very well, but even they impress in their short portions. A wonderful glimpse of country music is displayed in this song, with awesome vocals, lyrics and quirky music!#5StarHotelSong!!

‘Udd Jayega’ once again gets a makeover, and this time, with a divine Qawwali and Bhajan touch. The Wadali Brothers, Lakhwinder and Harshdeep bring in the beautiful Sufi touch required and Mangesh does a brilliant job in giving a Qawwali twist to the already magnificent composition. A wonderful Bhajan touch has also been given towards the middle of the song. Qawwali instruments like harmonium, tablas, pakhawaj make the composition sound even more angelic. Vibhu’s altered lyrics, in my opinion, are the best lyrics of any song in the album! Again, the song radiates a lot of positive and supreme energy. Backing vocals have been equipped and managed expertly in this song as well. In the Bhajan portion, sacred manjeeras and bells do the job of grasping our attention very well, before giving way again to the Qawwali. All the singers have been aptly chosen and do an outstanding to provide a memorable ending to the album! The best version of ‘Udd Jayega’ in my opinion, solely for the Qawwali-Bhajan fusion and the vibrant arrnagemnts and vocals! Brilliant ending to this fabulous album!#5StarHotelSong!!

As you can see, Hawaizaada can easily be called a #5StarHotelAlbum, as all songs in it are #5StarHotelSongs! With the numerous multi-composer albums releasing nowadays, which didn’t quite impress, Hawaizaada is the first in months that we actually had faith in to break the stereotype and prove that, of well-managed, even a multi-composer album can do wonders! Director and lyricist Vibhu Puri has done a great job in selecting apt songs for all the situations which would sound great with the narration as well as sound great when heard individually! Hawaizaada turns out to be a special case, in the sense that it is the first multi-composer album in which all the songs impress, and all the composers seem to be complementing each other very well, unlike others in which the composers seem to be conflicting in musical style and genres! The multi-composers have shown their ability to embark on a flight to the musical heights!!

Final Rating for This Album: सा < रे < ग < म < प < ध < नी < सां

Note: The letter which is underlined is the final rating.

Recommended Listening Order: No order as such, as all the songs are gems, but make sure you do not miss even a single one!

Which is your favourite song from Hawaizaada? Please vote for it below! 🙂

Please note that all content of this blog is owned by Music Mastani. To reproduce without credit in your website or blog, prior consent should be taken from Music Mastani via either Twitter or Facebook.